Clinique Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser Review

I've always had redness issues with my skin for as far back as I can remember. I have two types of redness: local skin reactions and flushing. When I get hot or angry, I tend to get blotchy, inflamed cheeks and even my jaw line will start to patch up. I also have (or had) splotchy redness focused on the apples of my cheeks. It never itched or burned really, it was just there.

When I posted on Twitter that I was thinking about doing a review on this cleanser, I was really surprised at the response I received. Apparently a lot of my fellow bloggers experience redness too! Well, hopefully I have a solution for you...

























Clinique's Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser is $20.50 (US) for 5 oz or 150mL. It comes in a green tube with a screw off cap, see below:

Clinique claims that this is an "extra-gentle, non-drying cream-gel melts away makeup and impurities. Helps calm visible redness, irritation while preserving skin's moisture balance. Smooths with mild exfoliation. Leaves skin clean, comforted."

It is stated that this cleanser is suitable for all skin types.

Now, I want to start off with the only thing I do not like about this cleanser -- the dispenser. The screw off lid is, I guess, a cool little thing to make this different... but why?

























First off, you're going to use this in the shower or at night; therefore, your hands will be wet. Ever tried to unscrew a metal top with soaking wet hands? It doesn't work too well. On top of it, the screw off cap is also how the bottle stands up. So the dispenser where your product comes out is sitting directly against your shower... uhhh... gross? I lay mine down but still don't feel like that is very cleanly. I am going to get a pump dispenser to empty this into so that I don't feel like I'm rubbing stuff from my shower walls on my face. Make this into a flip top lid, Clinique, seriously!

That being said, I pretty much love everything else about this cleanser. It is gentle -- I don't get any irritation or burning sensation on my cheeks from using it, and I don't feel that it is abrasive. I only use this in the morning as I feel like I do need something a little stronger to remove my face makeup at night. It does do a nice job at removing eye makeup, however... I actually have to work less to get the remainder off than I did with my old cleanser. I also feel like this would work for all skin types -- it is a creamy consistency but doesn't leave my dry skin feeling tight, and it's not greasy so an oilier person wouldn't have issues. It lathers decently well, I wouldn't call it a "high lather" cleanser.

I am considering getting a face brush to work this into my skin, just so that my face feels even cleaner and smoother -- but honestly, it works fine on its own. It does have a slight exfoliating property (I still exfoliate 2-3 times per week) so I like how "baby smooth" my skin feels when I get out of the shower.

I mean... this review wouldn't be complete without before and after pictures, would it? The before picture you may recognize -- it's from my MUFE HD foundation review. Not the most flattering picture but hey, it works. This was taken around noon, about an hour after showering. Notice how inflamed and irritated my cheeks and forehead are.
















































You can see it running down into my jaw line.

These are the after pictures -- taken on December 11. I don't have one of my forehead unfortunately -- that has cleared up but it is still a little irritated just from being dry.
















































There is no light trick or photo editing here - the after pictures are my cheeks with no makeup, after using the cleanser for about 2-3 weeks straight. I still have some residual redness around my nose (see first picture) but I think that may be my application method of the cleanser. I tend to be quite groggy in the morning and focus it on my cheeks and forehead, and forget to really work it into my nose and chin.

I am impressed with the results. I don't feel so uncomfortable walking around without makeup on anymore. I do still get reactive redness when I am hot and whatnot, but I don't think there's much I can do to combat that. The only thing I've noticed is that you do need to keep using it. I went a couple of days without it and ended up with reactive redness just before bed. It wasn't as severe, but it was definitely there.

Hopefully this helps anyone looking for a redness solution. I think it would work on most people -- you just have to be prepared to switch out the god awful bottle.